Amanda Marko - Roanoke City Council Candidate
Campground Reopening: Are you committed to working with the National Park Service to reopen the Roanoke Mountain Campground for overnight access?
Yes, without hesitation. City-owned land sitting underutilized while the National Park Service struggles with maintenance and staffing is a missed opportunity, remedied by bringing the right people together. A management agreement or public-private partnership that puts local hands and local investment into Roanoke Mountain is smart economics because a restored campground becomes a node in our regional outdoor economy.
My appointment this year to the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority gives me the platform and relationships to pursue exactly this kind of multi-party arrangement. I fully support the efforts are underway to bring NPS, the City, and private partners to the table with a serious proposal that includes a timeline and accountability for getting campers back on that mountain.
Greenway Completion and Maintenance: Would you support completing and maintaining the Roanoke River Greenway from Green Hill Park to Explore Park?
Yes, I support completing the Roanoke River Greenway from Green Hill Park to Explore Park. This requires sustained political will across multiple jurisdictions, and that starts with Roanoke leading by example.
On maintenance: deferred maintenance on a greenway compounds the same way it does on roads and buildings. A completed greenway that has already deteriorated erodes public trust. I would push for a dedicated maintenance line in the Capital Improvement Program, not subject to annual budget negotiations.
My service on the Mill Mountain Advisory Board taught me that trail maintenance requires predictable funding and clear accountability for who owns each segment. A perfect example is that our Mill Mountain hiking and biking trails plan would be sitting on the shelf if it wasn’t for the volunteers from the Roanoke Parks Foundation who raised the funds and put in the work to complete the new trail segments. I would use my seat on the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority to pursue private, state, and regional funding partnerships that take pressure off the city budget while keeping Roanoke in the leadership seat.
Budget Prioritization: Would you establish consistent annual funding for greenway expansion, maintenance, and improvements?
Outdoor infrastructure is economic infrastructure, and I know this from more than research. I spent seven years working in parks and recreation — for my hometown's parks department, where recreation spending runs at 11% of the municipal budget, and at a university recreation center that anchored campus life and enrollment decisions.
I support a consistent, dedicated annual funding level for greenway expansion and maintenance in the Capital Improvement Program. Discretionary year-to-year funding produces deferred maintenance and incomplete projects that waste the investment already made. I will make the case to Council with data from trail user counts, visitor spending, property value premiums, and employer feedback on talent attraction. Good stewardship of our natural assets is sound fiscal policy.
Economic and Community Benefits: How would the economic, health, and quality-of-life benefits of outdoor infrastructure influence your investment decisions?
Places built pride, identity, and loyalty in the people who used them. Furthermore, our region’s brand promise for tourists and residents alike is that we deliver a metro-mountain mix. We must live up to that promise every day.
I want innovative, sustainable development to be Roanoke's calling card — our differentiator that becomes a national model for how economic growth can be in harmony with nature. Our views, our watershed, and our crisp mountain air make the Roanoke Valley a desirable place to live; therefore, we must be creative in connecting those assets to real economic opportunity. Housing developments like The Foundry in Norwich are specifically viable because of their Greenway access.
There is no doubt that our greenways increase adjacent property values, reduce healthcare costs, attract young talent, and generate visitor spending. Restoring overnight camping at Roanoke Mountain and completing the greenway corridor would make Roanoke a genuine destination for travelers, newcomers, and boomerangs returning after time away.
Community Engagement: How would you ensure meaningful public input and transparency when expanding the greenway and reopening the campground?
Transparency and public involvement are how good decisions get made and how communities build trust. My approach would start with listening before proposing — structured engagement with environmental groups, trail users, neighborhood associations, and outdoor recreation businesses, including those skeptical of these investments.
I have seen too many planning processes where the public comments on a decision already effectively made. My time on the Mill Mountain Advisory Board taught me that the people who use these spaces every day see things planners miss. Their input makes projects better and builds the constituency that sustains them through budget cycles and political change. I would use my seat on the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority to model a regional engagement process that produces a shared vision, followed by an actionable plan.
Regional Cooperation and Funding: Would you increase Roanoke’s recreation funding from 2% to 3% and partner regionally to improve outdoor infrastructure?
Outdoor recreation assets do not respect jurisdictional boundaries, and neither should our approach to funding them. The Roanoke River Greenway crosses multiple localities. Roanoke Mountain belongs to everyone. Treating these as purely city responsibilities is unfair and ineffective.
This is exactly where my appointment to the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority becomes relevant. I intend to use that role to build a regional framework that loops in Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Franklin, and Montgomery Counties around a shared vision and a coordinated funding and management system. This is our chance to create a functioning mechanism with dedicated resources and access to state and federal grants no single locality can pursue alone.
On increasing recreation funding from 2% to 3%: I support it in principle, contingent on a clear plan, measurable outcomes, and a funding source that does not raise taxes.
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